PCMCIA printer

ABSTRACT

A printer includes a support structure which is dimensioned so that at least a first end portion of the support structure can be received in a PCMCIA slot of a computing device. A PCMCIA connector is positioned on the first end portion to engage a PCMCIA bay of the computing device. A printhead assembly is positioned on a second end portion of the support structure and is connected to the PCMCIA connector so that operation of the printhead assembly can be controlled by the computing device. A print media feed arrangement is interposed between the first and second end portions for feeding sheets of print media through the printhead assembly so that the printhead assembly can carry out a printing operation on the sheets of print media.

REFERENCED US PATENTS/PATENT APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser. No.09/942,601, filed on Aug. 31, 2001, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,906,778,which, is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/436,750 file date Nov. 9, 1999 now issued U.S. Pat. No.6,539,180. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/436,509, 09/436,750,09,113,053, 09/425,419 and 09/922,105 are hereby incorporated byreference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an image recordal and generation apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Applicant has developed print head assemblies that are capable ofgenerating images having a resolution of up to 1600 dpi. Furthermore,the print head assemblies that the Applicant has developed are of arelatively small size, allowing them to be incorporated into acamera-based device such as that described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/113,053.

Details of such a print head assembly can be found in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/113,053. The relatively small size has beenlargely the result of the development of an ink jet print head that isthe subject of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/425,419.

The ink jet print head has allowed the Applicant to develop a compactportable printer that is directly engageable with a PCMCIA slot in alaptop or notebook computer. This compact portable printer is thesubject matter of the above referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/436,509.

The Applicant has identified that it would be highly desirable toprovide an image recordal and generation assembly or apparatus that iscapable of generating the high-resolution images mentioned above and yetis of a size that is comparable to pocket sized cameras that arepresently available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided an apparatus for recordingand generating images, the apparatus comprising

-   -   a printing unit that comprises        -   a carrier that is dimensioned to approximate a PCMCIA memory            card, a media supply being receivable in the carrier;        -   a page width print head assembly that is mounted in the            carrier to print images on the media, the page width print            head assembly including at least one print head chip and a            suitable printing microprocessor that is configured to            control operation of the print head chip;        -   an ink supply mechanism that is operatively arranged with            respect to the print head assembly to supply the print head            assembly with ink; and        -   a media feed mechanism positioned in the carrier to feed            media to and from the print head chip; and    -   an image recordal apparatus that comprises        -   a housing in which the carrier is received, the housing            being dimensioned to define a sleeve for the carrier so that            at least half the carrier is received in the housing;        -   an image sensing device that is positioned on the housing to            sense an image to be generated; and        -   an image sensing microprocessor that is positioned in the            housing and is operatively arranged with respect to the            image sensing device to control operation of the image            sensing device;            wherein    -   both the printing unit and the image recordal apparatus have        complementary releasable data connectors so that the image        sensing microprocessor can communicate image data to the        printing microprocessor of the printing unit.

The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to theaccompanying drawings. It is to be noted that the following specificdescription is for the purposes of illustrating a particular embodimentof the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed and isnot intended to limit the broad scope of the preceding summary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows a three dimensional view of a printing unit of anapparatus, in accordance with the invention, for recording andgenerating images;

FIG. 2 shows a partially exploded view of a print media cartridge of theprinting unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the printing unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a partly cut away view of a print head of the printing unitof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a three dimensional view of the apparatus for recording andgenerating images;

FIG. 6 shows a rear view of the apparatus of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows the apparatus of FIG. 5 with the printing unit detachedfrom an image recordal apparatus;

FIG. 8 shows the apparatus of FIG. 5 with a print media cartridgedetached from the printing unit;

FIG. 9 shows a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 5, indicating theposition of some of the components;

FIG. 10 shows a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 5 also indicating theposition of some of the components; and

FIG. 11 shows a schematic block diagram indicating the variouscomponents of the apparatus of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an apparatus,in accordance with the invention, for recording and generating images.

The apparatus 10 includes a printing unit 12. The printing unit 12 has acarrier 14 that is dimensioned so that the printing unit 12 is similarin size to a PCMCIA memory card. In particular, the printing unit 12 issimilar in size to a PCMCIA type III card. As is known, PCMCIA is anacronym for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association thatsets parameters for PC cards having various sizes. The PCMCIA type IIIcard has a typical size of approximately 86 mm in length, approximately54 mm in width and approximately 11 mm in thickness.

The carrier 14 includes an elongate, substantially rectangular supportstructure 16. The support structure 16 includes a body portion 18 with atray 20 positioned at one end of the body portion 18 and a PCMCIA-typeconnector 22 positioned at an opposed end of the body portion 18. Aprint head assembly 24 is mounted on the tray 20. The print headassembly 24 includes a print head 26 that is positioned to span aprinting region indicated generally at 28. The print head assembly 24 isshown in some detail in FIG. 4. The print head 26 includes at least oneprint head chip 27 that is the product of an integrated circuitfabrication technique. Furthermore, each print head chip is described inthe above referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/425,419.

The print head 26 has an ink distribution arrangement 30 mountedthereon. The ink distribution arrangement 30 is described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/922,105, which is incorporated herein byreference. The ink distribution arrangement 30 includes an ink storageand feed structure 29 in fluid communication with a channeling structure31. The channeling structure 31 is in fluid communication with the printhead chip 27 so that ink can be fed to the nozzle arrangements of theprint head chip 27. The ink storage and feed structure 29 includes apair of outer ink reservoirs 33 and a pair of rows of ink storagechannels 35 positioned between the outer ink reservoirs 33.

The channeling structure 31 includes a pair of rows of feed channels 37.Each feed channel 37 is in fluid communication with a respective storagechannel 35. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the ink storage and feed structure29 and the channeling structure 31 together define a plurality of inkfeed passages that gradually decrease in cross sectional area as theynear the print head chip 27.

The print head assembly 24 includes control circuitry in the form of amicroprocessor 32, mounted on the tray 20. Details of a suitablemicroprocessor are provided in the above referenced U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/113,053.

The print head assembly 24 further includes a motor 34 that is drivinglyconnected to a gearbox 36. Operation of the motor 34 and thus thegearbox 36 is also controlled by the microprocessor 32. A primary feedroller 38 is positioned on an infeed side of the printing region 28 andis connected to the gearbox 36 to be driven by the gearbox 36. Asecondary feed roller 40 is positioned on an outfeed side of theprinting region 28.

The support structure 16 includes a base member 42. The base member 42includes a feed plate 44 that has a pair of opposed side clips 46 and afront clip 48 positioned thereon. The side clips 46 serve to engage sidewalls 50 of the body portion 18 and a front side 52 of the tray 20.

A pair of spaced retaining clips 54 are positioned on a rear side 56 ofthe feed plate 44 to engage complementary formations 58 defined on eachside of the PCMCIA-type connector 22.

The printing unit 12 includes a cover member 60 that is mountable overthe print head assembly 24 to protect the print head assembly 24.

A media supply cartridge in the form of a paper sheet cartridge 62 ismountable on the body portion 18. A supply 64 of paper sheets, one ofwhich is indicated at 66, is receivable in the cartridge 62. Thecartridge 62 includes a backing plate 68 against which the supply 64 ispositioned, in use. Each of a pair of side walls 70 extends from arespective major side of the backing plate 68. A rear cover 78 ismounted on the backing plate 68 and the side walls 70. Further, a frontcover 80 is also mounted on the backing plate 68 and the side walls 70.As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a retaining clip 84 is positioned on afeed end 82 of the backing plate 68. The retaining clip 84 is configuredto retain the paper supply 64 in the cartridge 62 as the sheet 66 is fedfrom the supply 64 into the printing region 28.

The backing plate 68 defines a pair of urging members 86. The urgingmembers 86 are biased so that when the supply 64 is positioned in thecartridge 62, the supply 64 is biased towards the feed plate 44. Thefront cover 80 and the cover member 60 have complementary engagingformations 88 which allow the cartridge 62 to be urged into engagementwith the cover member 60. In this position, the primary feed roller 38is positioned to engage the sheet 66 so that when the primary feedroller 38 rotates, the sheet 66 is drawn into the printing region 28.The cover member 60 and the tray 20 together define an outfeed slot 89from which printed sheets are fed.

The various components of the printing unit 12 are indicatedschematically in FIG. 11. As can be seen, the PCMCIA-type connector 22is connected to the microprocessor 32 with a suitable data bus indicatedat 90. The data bus 90 also serves to connect the microprocessor 32 tothe print head 26. Thus, image data received by the PCMCIA-typeconnector 22 can be communicated to the microprocessor 32 which can thencontrol operation of the print head 26 to generate an image on the papersheet 66.

The apparatus 10 further includes an image recordal apparatus 92. Theimage recordal apparatus 92 includes a housing in the form of a sleeve94 in which the printing unit 12 is received up to the cover member 60.As can be seen in the drawings, this means that approximately two thirdsof the printing unit 12 is received in the sleeve 94. Further, the covermember 60 and its respective portion of the feed plate 44 is dimensionedto correspond, transversely, with transverse dimensions of the sleeve94. It follows, therefore, that the apparatus 10 has overall dimensionsthat are in the region of one third larger than a type III PCMCA-typecard. It will readily be appreciated that an article of this size caneasily be carried in a pocket of a garment.

The image recordal apparatus 92 has a viewfinder 96 positioned thereon.The viewfinder 96 includes an eyepiece 98 through which a viewer cantarget an image to be recorded. A camera lens 100 is positionedproximate the viewfinder 96 and is configured to provide a focused imageof that which is to be recorded. The camera lens 100 is positioned infront of a CMOS-based image sensing device that, in this example, is inthe form of an active pixel sensor 102.

The active pixel sensor 102 is connected to a microprocessor 104 with asuitable data bus 106. The interaction of these components can readilybe seen in FIG. 11.

The data bus 106 also serves to connect the active pixel sensor 102 to amemory storage device 108.

Operation of the image recordal apparatus is by way of a cameraactuating button 110 that is depressed by a user in a conventionalmanner. The actuator button 110 is connected to the microprocessor 104so that, upon actuation, the processor 104 communicates a command signalto the active pixel sensor 102 to capture the desired image. Datacarrying this image is then stored in the memory storage device 108.

Operation of the printing unit 12 is by way of a printer actuatingbutton 120 that is connected to the printing microprocessor 32. Themicroprocessor 32 actuates operation of the print head assembly 24 whenthe button 120 is depressed so that the recorded image can be printed.

Details of the operation of the image recordal apparatus are set outfurther in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/113,053, incorporated above. Itfollows that further details of the operation of the image recordalapparatus will not be described in this specification.

The image recordal apparatus 92 includes a complementary PCMCIA-typeconnector 112 that is positioned in the sleeve 94 to engage thePCMCIA-type connector 22 when the printing unit 12 is inserted into theimage recordal apparatus 92.

The data bus 106 also serves to connect the microprocessor 104 and thememory storage device 108 to the complementary PCMCIA-type connector 112so that data relating to the captured image can be sent to themicroprocessor 32 of the printing unit 12.

Both the printing unit 12 and the image recordal apparatus 92 include aPCMCIA connector interface 124 to control the transfer of data acrossthe PCMCIA-type connectors 22, 112.

A battery indicated at 114 received within the sleeve 94 provides energyfor the operation of the various components of the apparatus 10. Abattery cover 116 is provided to secure the battery 114 in the sleeve94. Opposed minor side walls 122 of the sleeve 94 have guide formations118 defined therein. The side walls 50 of the body portion 18 areslideably received in respective guide formations 118 to facilitateinterconnection of the printing unit 12 and the image recordal apparatus92.

The Applicant believes that the invention provides a means whereby acompact image recordal device or camera incorporating a printer can beachieved. In particular, the device is only between approximately 30 and40 percent larger than a PCMCIA type III memory card. This has beenperceived by the Applicant to be a significant advantage based on thepopularity of pocket-sized cameras.

1. A printer which comprises a support structure which is dimensioned sothat at least a first end portion of the support structure can bereceived in a PCMCIA slot of a computing device; a PCMCIA connector thatis positioned on the first end portion to engage a PCMCIA bay of thecomputing device; a printhead assembly that is positioned on a secondend portion of the support structure and connected to the PCMCIAconnector so that operation of the printhead assembly can be controlledby the computing device; and a print media feed arrangement interposedbetween the first and second end portions for feeding sheets of printmedia through the printhead assembly so that the printhead assembly cancarry out a printing operation on the sheets of print media.
 2. Aprinter as claimed in claim 1, in which the printhead assembly includesa print head that is mounted on the support structure to span a printregion and an ink distribution arrangement positioned on the print headto feed ink to the printhead.
 3. A printer as claimed in claim 2, inwhich the print head includes at least one printhead chip mounted on theink distribution arrangement.
 4. A printer as claimed in claim 3, inwhich the ink distribution arrangement includes an ink storage and feedstructure and an ink channeling structure, the storage and feedstructure positioned upstream of the ink channeling structure that is influid communication with the, or each printhead chip to channel ink tothe, or each printhead chip.
 5. A printer as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the print media storage arrangement includes a mountingarrangement to permit a paper sheet cartridge to be mounted on thesupport structure in operational engagement with the print media feedarrangement.
 6. A printer as claimed in claim 5, in which the printmedia feed arrangement includes a roller assembly for engaging the papersheets and a drive mechanism engaged with the roller assembly fordriving the roller assembly such that the sheets are fed through theprinthead assembly.
 7. A printer as claimed in 1, in which the overalldimensions of the printer are approximately a third larger than theoverall dimensions of a PCMCIA type III card.